A day trip to Nemi, Lazio

In Italy last weekend, we took the opportunity of an overnight in Rome with my uncle Des to take a spin just south of the city (about an hour).  The parents made the same trip to the town of Nemi last year and came home singing the praises of the little town on the crater-lake. It is a prize little town just beyond the Popes summer residence Castelgandolfo.  The compact shops and restaurants lined along the small main street are a testament to traditional wall-to-wall food merchandising and are to be admired in awe - prosciutto (with and without the hair on), coppa, salami with all sorts of seasoning, lardo, pancetta, guanciale, coppieta,& endless local cheeses.

The added advantage of this food haven are two of the local specialities......Porchetta & Wild Strawberries (Fragoline).  We indulged in both. They made for a very tasty lunch!  That said the strawberries also made a special appearance in a local delicacy......salami with fragoline.  Let's just say the sweet squishiness of the strawberries is not something I would personally go running back for. 

Porchetta sandwich

Fragoline tarts

Salami with Strawberries

Ricotta & Lemon Tart from Antonio Carluccio

I watched Antonio make this on the Two Greedy Italians last week with Gennaro. I had to give it a go! It is absolutely 'amazeballs'. Think summer, sun, lemons, sitting on the terrace & finished off sipping a chilled limoncello.

Ingredients:

400g puff pastry (& a little plain flour).

250g Ricotta

250g Mascarpone

200g Candied peel (I got my hands on some *Cedro, as Antonio recommends)

120g Caster sugar

6 Eggs (separated)

1 Lemon for zesting

Roll out the pastry so that it fits comfortably (hanging over the edge of your decent sized tart dish - 25/30 cm).  Leave it aside covered with a damp cloth. (I used a pre-made frozen puff pastry, as I've a slight aversion to making pastry). It worked.

For the mixture, spoon together the mascarpone, ricotta, candied peel, 100g of sugar.  Give it a good mix and then add in the yolks of 5 eggs.  Keep one aside for glazing the pastry. Whisk up the 6 egg whites until well fluffy and add in the remaining sugar and whisk again to give it a good sheen. Gently fold in the egg whites to the cheese mix. 

Get your tart tin and pastry out from hiding and pour the mix into the centre of the dish. Spread it carefully and evenly. Fold in the sides of the pastry and aim for the rustic uneven look rather than a perfected knife-cut edge. Glaze with the remaining egg yolk.

Pop it in the pre-heated oven (180 degrees) for 25-30 mins. There should still be a definite wobble to the mix. Leave to cool. Zest a lemon over it. Stuff your face! 

Notes:
Must try this with sheep's ricotta when I can get some. Should give a lighter texter & an extra little kick in flavour.

Used 250g of Ricotta & Mascarpone, as these are the packet sizes. Recipe recommends 300g to 250g.

*Cedro is particular type of lemon from Campania that is candied like other peels. It's almost a little sour in taste, even though candied, but works a treat. Some orange peel (as Antonio recommends) would help balance the sour with some sweet

Although loaded with eggs......it is not eggy or custardy.  It is lighter than a typical New York baked cheesecake.